Your website design is essentially your online storefront. That's why it's important to make sure it's properly designed by an experienced professional. Here are some tips on choosing a website designer that can help you choose the right individual or company for the job.
Get as Many Skills as Possible Under One Roof
A really good website designer should be able to perform the following tasks:
- Create a design and layout for your site, choosing the right graphics, colors and font to showcase your company in the best possible light
- Determine what pages your site will have and how they will link to each other
- Create the code for your site so it runs quickly and efficiently
- Create a plan for your website to fit into an effective online marketing campaign so your site not only looks pretty but also generates traffic and sales
Bear in mind that many freelance designers have to outsource some of these jobs to others. This raises your price tag for the project. A company, on the other hand, will have all the skilled professionals you need for the task under one roof.
Choose a Good Listener
Listening skills aren't usually at the top of the list for most companies choosing a website designer. However, they should be. Even a superb website designer can't create the perfect design for your company without getting to know your company. Look for a designer who is willing to listen to everything you have to say about your business, including not only general information about what it does or sells but also your current and future goals, what audience you target and why and what you need from a professional website design.
Look into His or Her Track Record
Ask the designer to show you websites that he or she has designed in the past. You want to find a designer who creates a unique design for every single site, not one who simply modifies a few existing designs to create cookie-cutter websites that don't stand out from the rest.
It's also wise to ask the designer for names of past clients. Ask these past clients about their experience working with the designer to see if he or she is a good person to work with. Naturally, not all clients will like a particular designer so be sure to find out why a particular client has a negative view of the person you are considering working with.
Make sure your designer acts in an ethical manner. Unfortunately, many designers simply grab photos from the internet and use them without permission. If this happens, you (not your designer) could be sued for copyright infringement. Be sure you know where every single image and graphic on your site came from.
It's also very important when choosing a website designer to find out how your website designer wants to handle communications and payments. You may need to pay a certain amount every week or month. In other instances, you may need to pay a certain fee once a particular job has been completed. It's also a good idea to make sure you and your designer can communicate clearly with each other. Some designers may want to send text messages or WhatsApp while others may prefer to speak with you in person or send emails.
Choosing a Website Designer for Ongoing Work
Designing a website is not a one-time job. As any savvy business owner knows, a website must be maintained regularly in order to effectively reach your target audience. You don't necessarily have to hire the website designer who created the site to handle the ongoing maintenance work but it's not a bad idea to do so if you like the designer and work well with him or her. However, bear in mind that not all website designers handle ongoing website maintenance. Ask your chosen designer about ongoing maintenance before agreeing to work with him or her so you aren't faced with unpleasant surprises later on.
Choosing a website designer in a hurry is never a good idea. An improperly designed website can do your company more harm than good. What is more, it is often harder and more expensive to fix a poorly designed website than it is to make sure the website is done right in the first place.
If you are looking for a reliable company that can not only provide website design but also a host of other important services such as local SEO, content marketing, branding and offsite marketing, then Brandgy may be just the right choice for you. We offer not only one-time services but also ongoing services in various price points to make it easy for you to get the help you need at a price you can afford. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you create the best possible website for your company.
